PERCEPTIONS OF THE GEROPSYCHOLOGY WORKFORCE

Abstract There is a longstanding shortage of teaching faculty and clinicians trained in psychology and aging (Moye et al. 2019). Further, there are few marginalized group members in the geriatric workforce. To better understand this issue, a survey was distributed to psychology and aging listservs in preparation for the “Building Bridges” conference. Problems noted by respondents (N=275) included fewer applicants for aging-related positions (42%), decreased interest in aging by students (32%), loss of aging-related positions (18%); 24% thought workforce problems are worse than 5 years ago. Similar themes emerged in qualitative comments including: (1) lack of applicants/ interest, (2) lack of or decline in the training/ education opportunities, (3) lack of finances/ funding/ resources, (4) lack of professional positions, and (5) positive experiences/ actions/ change. Themes specific to marginalized group members to support diversity, equity, and inclusion include mindful commitment, education (e.g., mentorship), and recognizing not doing enough.


AAA WORKFORCE CHALLENGES AND THEIR IMPACT ON OLDER ADULTS: RESULTS FROM A NATIONAL POLL AND AGENCY INTERVIEWS Elizabeth Blair, and Traci Wilson, USAging, Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) play a critical role in addressing social needs that enable older adults to live independently. In 2022, over 90% of AAAs reported that the number of consumers seeking services and the complexity of consumer needs have increased. At the same time, the nation faces a shortage of direct care workers. Existing AAAs workforce challenges, such as worker shortages and staff burnout, have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will share the results of a USAging poll of AAAs on the challenges facing their agency and provider workforce, reductions in volunteer staffing, and the impacts of workforce shortages on clients and services provided. Top impacts include clients not receiving the frequency of services needed, if at all. Services most impacted include personal care, respite, and transportation. Presenters will conclude by sharing innovative solutions that AAAs have developed to address these challenges. Robert Graham, and Isha Karmacharya, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States Community Based Organizations (CBOs), such as Area Agencies on Aging, play a vital role in their communities by offering a range of services that address the health-related social needs of older adults and people with disabilities. As health care entities (HCEs) become more aware of the effects of unmet social needs on health outcomes, there has been a significant increase in the number of HCEs contracting with CBOs to provide a wider range of services and care coordination for older adults and people with disabilities. Using findings from four waves of the national Aging and Disability Business Institute's CBO-Health Care Contracting Survey (2017-2021), presenters will describe trends in CBO/ HCE contracting, including increased diversification of partnerships with health care payers and providers, services provided, and populations served. Results suggest that more CBOs are forming integrated networks to improve contracting with HCEs, and that assessment for SDOH is the most common service. As in other disciplines, there is a high demand for psychologists who have specialized training in aging, but the demand far outstrips the supply, with only 1% of clinical/ counseling psychologists identifying aging as their area of focus. The field of geropsychology has held a series of training conferences, the last in 2006, to define a training model and aging-related competencies. Fifteen years later, the field gathered again for a conference focusing specifically on the pipeline, with the goals of 1) understanding the recent shortage of applicants for positions in academic settings, 2) addressing underrepresentation of individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds across clinical and academic geropsychology, and 3) implementing concrete solutions. In this symposium we describe our two-day, fourhour virtual national conference held in 2021, attended by more than 150 psychologists nationwide, including the structure and outcomes of the conference and the progress of several ongoing working groups. The first paper summarizes quantitative and qualitative findings of a pre-conference survey on perceptions of the geropsychology workforce. The second paper describes a career pathways webinar aimed at graduate students, interns, and fellows to attract students to diverse careers in aging. The third paper describes discussions about the impact of the pandemic on geropsychology training. The fourth paper presents a survey and efforts of a working group focused on post-licensure training. This presentation offers a possible model for others considering ways to galvanize interest and training in aging. There is a longstanding shortage of teaching faculty and clinicians trained in psychology and aging (Moye et al. 2019). Further, there are few marginalized group members in the geriatric workforce. To better understand this issue, a survey was distributed to psychology and aging listservs in preparation for the "Building Bridges" conference. Problems noted by respondents (N=275) included fewer applicants for aging-related positions (42%), decreased interest in aging by students (32%), loss of aging-related positions (18%); 24% thought workforce problems are worse than 5 years ago. Similar themes emerged in qualitative comments including:

SESSION 2030 (SYMPOSIUM)
(1) lack of applicants/ interest, (2) lack of or decline in the training/ education opportunities, (3) lack of finances/ funding/ resources, (4) lack of professional positions, and (5) positive experiences/ actions/ change. Themes specific to marginalized group members to support diversity, equity, and inclusion include mindful commitment, education (e.g., mentorship), and recognizing not doing enough. More than one third of psychologists report frequently treating older adults, while only 1% consider themselves geropsychologists. Continuing education opportunities in geropsychology have historically been scant, with even fewer opportunities for expert case consultation in work with older adults. To identify interest in geropsychology consultation, the Building Bridges Post-Licensure (BBPL) group conducted an informal survey of licensed psychologists via listservs. Results among 80 respondents indicated strong interest in group consultation regarding foundational knowledge, assessment, and intervention. This presentation will describe the BBPL group's efforts to examine effective models of consultation, develop a consultation model for geropsychology, and partner with both professional and community-based organizations to develop the infrastructure for geropsychology consultation.

BUILDING BRIDGES TO FUTURE LEADERS: A CAREER PATHWAYS WEBINAR Meghan McDarby, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States
Educational webinars can improve attitudes toward careers in aging. We developed a 6-session webinar series about careers in geropsychology, detailing unique career pathways (e.g., academic, private practice, VA). Our evaluation of the series included trainees from graduate programs and postdoctoral fellowships. Participants rated their attitudes toward each career pathway at pre-and post-session. At post-session, participants reported significantly increased interest in careers in aging (t(83) = 4.72, p < .00). They also reported significantly increased understanding of the type of training required for careers in aging (t(77) = 8.10, p < .00). Importantly, at post-session, participants reported stronger beliefs that they could be successful in a career in aging (t(84) = 3.86, p < .00) and that they would have good work-life balance (t(87) = 9.34, p < .00). Results suggest that a webinar series may increase student interest in and understanding of unique career pathways in geropsychology.

THE UNIQUE IMPACT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC ON PREDOCTORAL GEROPSYCHOLOGY TRAINING: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE FIELD
Candice Reel 1 , Hannah Bashian 2 , Julia Boyle 3 , Mary Jacobs 4 , and Michelle Mlinac 2 , 1. The University of Alabama,Tuscaloosa,Alabama,United States,2. VA Boston HCS,Boston,Massachusetts,United States,3. New England GRECC,Boston,Massachusetts,United States,4. Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center,Tuscaloosa,Alabama,United States The COVID-19 pandemic impacted predoctoral psychology training at the graduate, practicum, and internship levels including a greater reliance on telehealth and evolving learning needs. However its unique impact on geropsychology training has not been explored. The Building Bridges workgroup for predoctoral training faculty levels, we describe opportunities and barriers to address evolving geropsychology training needs during the pandemic as determined through working group discussion. Negative impacts to training identified include: decreased opportunities for 1) face-to-face patient care and 2) telehealth care due to disparities in telehealth access and utilization in older adults. Other impacts on the geropsychology pipeline include declining opportunities to see older adults at practicum sites. Conversely, increased media attention to the impact of COVID on older adults' physical and mental health may lead to graduate students' having greater interest in geriatric mental health and reinforcing a geropsychology career. Recommendations for training programs to address the long-term ramifications of the pandemic will be offered.

EDITORS INSIGHTS ON PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE GLOBAL GERONTOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Chair: Edward Miller Co-Chair: Elizabeth Simpson Global aging has proceeded at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The aging of the population creates both opportunities and challenges for older adults, their families, and society in general. Importantly, there is substantial variation in the effects of and response to global aging both within and across nations depending, in part, on prevailing cultural expectations and values, political and economic imperatives, and social and demographic characteristics. Thus, while some regions and countries have responded with innovative policies and programs to better enable the growing cohort of older adults to remain active and engaged in the Innovation in Aging, 2022, Vol. 6, No. S1